


Honey Golden

by crabsticks



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Mark, M/M, mark has acne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-29 11:01:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19018573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crabsticks/pseuds/crabsticks
Summary: Before meeting Donghyuck, if someone told Mark stars could be seen from the sun, he would’ve called them crazy. But getting to experience Donghyuck for a good portion of his life, he’s witnessed the sight the twinkle of the night sky from the luminescence of the sun first hand.





	Honey Golden

Dripping gold that glistens unsheltered, Donghyuck’s skin is like sunshine. When Mark first met Donghyuck, he couldn’t help but compare him to the sun. His face would shine so bright, the sunrays would bounce off his tan skin and directly into Mark’s eyes. It almost hurt to look at Donghyuck directly, but being in the presence of Donghyuck’s radiance for all of high school, it was only natural that some of those rays would hit Mark in the heart as well. Not only was Donghyuck’s skin like sunshine, but he also had a scattering of freckles around the sides of his face down to his neck. If Mark looked closely, he could connect to dots and see the big dipper smack on his cheek. Before meeting Donghyuck, if someone told Mark stars could be seen from the sun, he would’ve called them crazy. But getting to experience Donghyuck for a good portion of his life, he’s witnessed the sight the twinkle of the night sky from the luminescence of the sun first hand. And just as honey golden Donghyuck’s skin is, it’s also as smooth as honey. For as long as Mark has known Donghyuck, not once has Mark ever seen a pimple land on his precious boy’s face. Donghyuck had no facial hair, no discoloration, not a single pore ever spotted. As cheesy as it may sound, Mark has always thought that Donghyuck’s glow intimidated any imperfection from taking root on his face. Donghyuck was perfect in Mark’s eyes. And Mark could only look at himself in disgust as he tries popping the third pimple that erupted from his face that week from a Walmart surveillance camera. 

Before leaving for college, Mark’s face wasn’t all too bad. He had a few pimples here and there, and had started to shave after hitting puberty, but other than that Mark’s skin was fine, and Mark had left Donghyuck for college looking just that, fine. But Mark sure wasn’t looking fine now. The unlimited meal plan Mark had bought sure hadn’t done wonders on his skin, and having 8 am classes called for coffee, and Mark was a bitch when it came to coffee, meaning loading his cup up with creamer and sugar. The hair on his face started to grow back thicker and faster, meaning Mark shaved twice a day, and even freshly shaved, he could still see the hair beneath the surface. Sure, Mark wasn’t looking too well for ware, but he could kinda deal with a greasy pimply face and a five o'clock shadow at noon everyday. What really got to him was dead week before semester break. Finals were coming up and Mark really screwed himself over by not paying attention the first four months of classes. So in a matter of five days, Mark stayed up until three everynight, trying to shove months of learning into his brain. Mark really regretted taking the higher level requisites, because to his surprise college work is hard. Staying up all night meant even more bitch coffee, and waking back up early for even more studying, Mark could add raging cystic acne and four inch long bags growing down his eyes to the mix of things wrong with his face. 

This brings Mark back to his situation, in front of the makeup aisle at his local Walmart. Finals were officially over, and he was back in his hometown. Donghyuck had expressed his excitement for Mark’s homecoming for weeks now, and insisted that Mark meet him the minute he reached home. But Mark knew too well that Donghyuck cared for aesthetics. Coming from a diligent morning and night routine, a low sugar diet, and a basic workout, Donghyuck never liked looking anything but one hundred percent when he walked out the door to face the world. And nothing would stop Donghyuck from looking good. More than once had Mark gone to Donghyuck’s house for the sole purpose of making out only for the door to be opened by a bothered Donghyuck with a clay mask on. Donghyuck liked to match his outfits with his nails, and even bought a black car, only because black matches everything (the mileage was awful, and made screeching noises when pressing the brakes). Mark remembers the day Donghyuck went to the animal shelter to adopt a cat. Donghyuck was allergic to cats, but couldn’t bear with a hairless rat for a cat, so Donghyuck showed up to Mark’s house, with a beautiful fluffy kitten, watery eyes and constant sneezes. To put it in short, Donghyuck judged based on appearance, and Mark was ugly, and Mark would keep looking ugly if he couldn’t figure out what foundation he should choose from a range of unfamiliar bottles. Pacing back and forth the makeup aisle multiple times, Mark thought he was doomed. Different brands racked the store, all saying the same thing. Mark knew nothing about makeup. Fifteen dollars for liquid foundation felt outrageously expensive for a college student. There was a shelf with powdered foundation, and they were only six dollars, but buying powder meant he’d have to buy a brush. Or does he need to buy a brush for liquid foundation too? What shade is he even? With his head imploding Mark felt a vibrate in his pocket and sure enough from the person he’s been dreading to see.

yeehawchan: where are you :( you’re back in town right?

Mark runs a hand through his hair and stifled a groan. Mark was supposed to go to Donghyuck’s as soon as he unpacked his stuff at his house, but instead he zoomed straight to his local Walmart, luggage still stacked in the trunk of his car. Mark instantly felt regret. His boyfriend had been waiting for him to come back home for months and Mark was trying to hide from him because of his stupid college habits. And how low did Mark think of Donghyuck? They were dating, Donghyuck loved him, there was no way he would think of Mark any different because of his face. However, the voice in the back of mind was shoving it’s way to the forefront, reminding Mark that Donghyuck had such a better eye for beauty than him, and if even he thought of himself as ugly, then Donghyuck would undoubtedly look at Mark the same way. Sighing, Mark decided that he had been procrastinating long enough.

mörk lee: omw ;)

yeehawchan: :D

Mark shoved his phone back in his pocket and grabbed the first bottle that said foundation on it, speed walking to the express registers. While paying for his foundation, he glanced up to see a 2-pack of face cover masks above the conveyor belt. Without thinking twice, he grabbed a pack and threw it on the belt with the rest of his things.

Putting makeup on in his car was probably one of the worst ideas that Mark has thought of. Mark now realized that he probably should have bought a brush to go with the foundation, because at this point Mark was just barbarically swiping the liquid on with his two unwashed hands. It was uneven, and he could literally see the places he swiped his fingers on his face. The foundation got onto his eyebrows and lips, and he was positive he didn't pick the right color, because he looked like he just threw peanut butter onto his face. But the worst part of it all, it didn’t even cover up his acne. Sure, the pimples were less noticeable, but he could still notice the bumps along his cheeks, and underneath the foundation they looked black? So instead of looking better, Mark looked a different kind of ugly. Using his last resort, Mark popped on a face mask to at least cover some of his face. Looking into the driver’s side mirror, Mark examined his work, and immediately started crying.

Pulling up to Donghyuck’s driveway, Mark decided to give himself one more lookover before getting dumped. The foundation oxidized from peanut butter to straight orange, and looked absolutely cakey. It looked like he had no eyebrows, and tear stains were matted to his cheeks, traces of foundation smudging onto his face mask. Good thing it was a 2-pack. One deep breath and Mark opened the car door, making his way to Donghyuck’s porch and ringing his doorbell. Mark started imagining ways he could get out of this situation. Maybe Donghyuck wouldn’t be home because Mark took so long at Walmart, and he could come back later. Or maybe Mark could tell him something came up and would have to meet another day. Maybe Mark could even fake an illness that would have him quarantined until all of his acne went away. Or even-

“Mark!”

So maybe Mark couldn’t get out of it anymore, as Donghyuck flung himself out of his house and jumped into Mark, Donghyuck’s legs straddling his waist.

“What took you so long? I’ve been laying on my couch all day waiting for you to come home,” said Donghyuck.

Mark puffed out a breath of air. He almost forgot how much he missed holding Donghyuck in his arms. With Donghyuck still in tow, Mark carried him back into his house, shutting the front door behind him. Mark plopped him and himself on the couch Mark arms circled tightly around Donghyuck’s torso.

“Sorry baby, traffic was crazy today. Took a lot longer to get here than I expected,” Mark lied on the spot. 

Donghyuck didn’t reply after, but sank down further into Mark’s chest, filling the room with a comfortable silence. Mark thought this wouldn’t be so bad, if Donghyuck had his face in his chest, then he couldn’t see Mark’s face. If Mark was still enough, he could lull Donghyuck to sleep, then he could slip out and text Donghyuck to meet him some other day.

“Let go of me a little, I want to kiss you.”

Okay, so maybe Mark would have to improvise.

Mark stilled in his seat, hands gripping onto Donghyuck more tightly. “How about we just stay like this until the sun goes down.” Donghyuck laughed, Mark feeling the vibrations from Donghyuck’s mouth to his chest.

“Seriously, I haven’t seen your face in months. I’ve been Mark deprived.”

Mark reluctantly loosens his grip and Donghyuck sat up on his lap, getting a good look at his face. To say that Donghyuck looked shocked at the sight of Mark’s face would be an understatement.

“Why are you wearing makeup like that?”

Mark guesses that there’s no getting out of this. Taking a deep breathe, Mark lets everything out at rapid speed.

“Finals week was really hard and stressful and I couldn’t get enough sleep so I started getting more acne. Also the curly fries are so fucking good there baby, I would just eat plates of them so my face started getting greasy but then I realized that I would have to see you today. You just look so perfect and I know you like things that look good and I’m not saying you’re shallow at all, but I was just embarrassed that you would have to be with someone so ugly so I went to Walmart before I came to your house and bought foundation to look better for you but I think I just look worse but,” Mark takes a broken breathe. “ I know someone as beautiful as you doesn’t deserve for their shine to be blocked by someone who looks like this. But please don’t be mad, or break up with me. I’m sorry I look like this.”

Donghyuck’s face softened. “Oh baby,” Donghyuck said, pecking a light kiss to Mark’s cheek, directly on one of his pimples. Mark eyes widened, how could Donghyuck want to kiss something so gross? Especially being a person as flawless as himself.

“It doesn’t matter what you look like. I noticed that you hadn’t had time to call or text that often because of your assignments, and during finals week you completely cut me off so I knew you were up there busting your ass off. I know college has been working you hard, and I’m glad you’re working hard.” Donghyuck padded his fingers along Mark’s cheek.  
“Your face just likes to show how hard you work more than others. But I don’t care about how you look, I just want to be with you. And that’s what I wanted you here for today. So let me kiss you properly because it’s been ages Mark Lee.”

A sign of relief washes over Mark. He still loves me. So Mark finally took off his face mask for the first time at Donghyck’s house that day, and kissed Donghyuck smack on the lips for the first time in months.

After a few hours, it had started getting dark, and Donghyuck was starting to yawn on top of Mark on the couch, the TV playing some movie on the lowest volume.

“I better start getting ready for bed,” said Donghyuck, shifting out of Mark’s hold. “Do you want to sleep over? My parents won’t be here.”

Mark leaves one last peck on Donghyuck face, and pats his shoulder. “Of course, you go get ready, I’ll be here.”

Before Donghyuck makes it down the hallway to the bathroom, looking out to Mark still laying on the couch, Donghyuck quietly calls out to him.

“Do you want to try on a clay mask with me?”

Mark’s eyes shift from the TV screen to Donghyuck, smirking.

“Sure.”


End file.
